Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) welcomed the restoration of expanded voter citizenship checks Monday, calling the Supreme Court’s September 25 decision a victory for election integrity and Texas’ efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a win for the integrity of our elections and the democratic process,” Paxton said in a statement released September 28.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the 6-3 order allows the federal government to resume providing expanded citizenship information to state and local officials while an appeal proceeds.
“Texas must continue to be able to utilize resources that help us keep our elections fair and secure in order to protect the voice of the American people,” Paxton said in the statement.
Texas defended access to federal records
Paxton intervened in April to defend Texas’ use of the modified Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, known as SAVE, his office said. Texas argued that the system supports accurate voter rolls and that federal officials have authority to operate it.
SAVE began in 1986 to help agencies verify citizenship and immigration status for public benefits. The Trump administration expanded it in 2025 to incorporate additional Social Security Administration records and allow bulk searches.
Officials can submit names, birth dates and full or partial Social Security numbers. The system can confirm citizenship or indicate that officials need additional information.
Court restores expanded checks during appeal
The League of Women Voters, its affiliates and the Electronic Privacy Information Center challenged the changes, alleging violations of federal privacy and administrative laws.
A federal district judge in Washington, D.C., blocked the modified program on June 22. The D.C. Circuit declined to pause that ruling before the Supreme Court granted a stay in Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters.
The majority said the challengers likely had standing but their claims likely lacked merit. It cited federal law authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to obtain citizenship information from other agencies and requiring responses to state and local verification inquiries.
Privacy dispute remains unresolved
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. She argued that the majority’s interpretation could override restrictions on disclosing Social Security information and warned that inaccurate records could burden eligible voters.
The majority acknowledged federal law’s 90-day restriction on systematic voter-roll removals before a federal election. It said individualized citizenship inquiries remain permitted during that period.
The stay keeps the modified SAVE program available during the appeal and any timely request for Supreme Court review. The court has not issued a final decision on the expanded system’s legality.
